Stories From Down Under: Day 13 - 14 Freycinet Saffire

Jan 16 - 17th Day 13 - 14

Saffire Freycinet
(Beth)

The Saffire Lodge in Freycinet National Park, shaped like a stingray with a gracefully sloped roof, is a stunning combination of hospitality and nature. As we walked into the main lodge building, we were treated to our first view of the Hazards mountain range and the gorgeous Coles Bay, with "Penguin Island" at its center. (We couldn't recall the real name of this privately owned island reputed to have a 10-BR AirBNB home and a penguin rookery that gets very loud around 2 am every day.)

Warm welcome written right into the sand!

We were spoiled rotten by the amazing staff who fed us way too well, skillfully guided us along the terrain, educated us about the flora and fauna, and went out of their way to find us our first wallaby!

Our first adventure was a trip to the Marine Oyster Farm down the road. We donned our posh waders and strolled out into the bay.

Here's our adorable guide-slash-shucker Eli, who taught us how the oysters are nurtured from baby spawn to the delicious silky-topped oysters we enjoyed throughout Tasmania. He also told us how he wooed his girlfriend with his picnic skills. Eli's a keeper.

Rob filling barrels with newest batch.
Steve inspecting his work.

Later that day, we returned to Bicheno Bay (see Karen's previous post about our trip from Hobart) for a tour of the Waubs Harbour Whiskey Distillery. Tom walked us through the process from barley to fermented barley water to moonshine (!) to the delicious whiskeys we tasted at the end. We had the chance to talk with Rob, the visionary behind the whole enterprise. Then we cleaned up at the hotel and ate our 5th meal of the day!

The wind and threat of rain didn't slow us down as we set off with our guide Chris for our hike of Wineglass Bay, arguably Freycinet's most picturesque vista. Chris regaled us with some of his crazy trekking and tracking adventures, including a year spent with Tibetan monks to follow a beautiful snow leopard (now tattooed on Chris's forearm. Of all the experiences Chris shared, I think it's fair to say we were all most amazed that he could've been silent for 10 days at the monastery. 😄 With a dramatic flair, he delivered us to the lookout spot and took some stunning footage even though the sky was misty.

Back at "base camp," we learned all about the Tasmanian Devil Sanctuary overseen by Saffire's devil expert, Nicole. (Devils are prone to a lethal face cancer, and by separating out the unafflicted, they are helping to save the population from extinction.) While we had previously felt sorry for "poor Melvyn" because his back was all scratched up and hairless, we found out that male Tasmanian Devils have a nasty habit of trapping the female in the burrow where they've just done the deed by sitting on the opening. The female will then scratch at his bottom until he finally moves and lets her out. We were not a fan of the male devil after learning of this egregious behavior. I was not a fan of either gender after watching them tear apart a (pre-killed) wallaby with their nasty teeth and screechy screeches. I was grateful for the thick glass viewing area at one end of the sanctuary's enclosure!

We were very sad to leave our cozy home at Saffire, but it was time to move on to Barnbougle!